'Cats should be banished from New Zealand' says campaigner who fears for future of native birds

A blogger in New Zealand has caused national outrage after he started a campaign to rid the country of cats.

Gareth Morgan, an economist and well-known businessman, set up the website called 'Cats To Go' and called on his countrymen to make their current moggy their last in order to save the nation's unique bird species.

But the environmental advocate has triggered a claws-out backlash with his anti-feline campaign.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Morgan also suggests people keep cats indoors and that local governments make registration mandatory.

However, Morgan's campaign has caused anger in a country that boasts one of the highest cat ownership rates in the world.

Bob Kerridge, the president of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the current affairs television show Campbell Live: 'I say to Gareth Morgan, butt out of our lives.

'Don't deprive us of the beautiful companionship that a cat can provide individually and as a family.'